Genesis 42:31

Translations

Modern

But we told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies.

Traditional

And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:

Literal

And we said to him, ‘We are honest; we are not spies.

Latin

Cui respondimus: Pacifici sumus, nec ullas molimur insidias.

Original

Hebrew

English

But we told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies.

Notes

Genesis 42:29–34

The brothers’ report focused on the charge that they were spies and on the need to bring Benjamin back to Egypt with them. They did not mention that they were beginning to see God’s judgment (his just response to wrongdoing) for what they had done to Joseph.

Genesis 42:1–44:34

Joseph did several unusual things to his brothers when they came looking for grain. The last time Joseph had been with them, they were filled with jealousy, hatred, and anger; they attempted to destroy their brother, and they deceived their father. Joseph put them through various tests, similar to the trying situations they had put him through, to see if they had changed.

Theme notes and profiles

Egypt Jacob Joseph Symbolic Numbers